Cultural Encounters In A Globalizing World: An Analysis Of Gung-Ho Film

Opposing Poles: A Comparison of the Japanese and American Culture

Discuss about the Cultural Encounters in a Globalizing World for An Analysis of Gung-Ho Film.

Multinational organizations trying to setup a business in a foreign country face the problem of adjusting to the nation’s culture. Adapting to a foreign culture is a bilateral process which means arriving at a middle ground from both the foreign corporation and the host country, to make the process smooth and achievable to bring about stability and efficient organization performance. Compromises include formulating a context-sensitive and efficient management of human resource plan, a professional structure for resolution dispute and transformational and consultation leadership. Because of rapid progress in globalization, much prominence have garnered by the international management. To improve the global competitiveness of domestic market maintaining a comparative advantage, independent countries must follow a set of rules established by International trade. Many countries including those from third world countries rely on FDI or foreign direct investment to make advancements in the economy. Globalization opens up an opportunity for exchange of cultures while minimizing the effects of a geographic barrier.

Difficulty in controlling two different cultures in a similar working environment was portrayed in the movie Gung Ho (working together) which is a 1986 drama-comedy. The prominent roles in the movie are Michael Keaton, who played Hunt Stevenson, and Gedde Watanabe played Takahara Kazuhiro, who tried their very best to restore friendly relations to mitigate differences the two cultures bought. Stevenson took the responsibility of convincing the workforce of America to adapt to the ethics and philosophies of Japanese work culture. On one hand he had public employment, and on another had many failed attempts to reconcile the differences, the two left those to work on a shared goal. They set examples and so their peers started following, which they accomplished in creating their desired output. Through the example of cultural openness they set, Americans understood the meaning of working together and the Japanese understood the importance of personal life and family besides work.

The movie may have been a success but not without its share of criticism. The weakness of the both the cultures is often pointed out by critics. Emphasized were the American inefficiencies and the inscrutability about Japanese. The film in spite of the criticism received critical acclaims from the academics for portraying dynamics of a work culture in a multicultural environment. Implementing the theories proposed by Helen Deresky, Japanese tend to have the polychromic culture however the Americans have a monochronic culture. While the former specializes in continual improvement and multitasking, the latter would tend to best practices and specialization. The author will use Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory in analyzing the movie and applying the same in mitigating conflicts arising in modern organizations to complement the theories set by Deresky.

Collectivism versus Individualism

Six quantified elements found in theory of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension are: collectivism versus individualism, pragmatic versus normative, restraint versus indulgent, feminity versus masculinity, uncertainty avoidance index and power distance index. The computability of these given points is necessary for modern organizations and their heavy dependency on quantitative searches and statistics. Lenses as cultural dimensions, used for providing the fertile framework to a resolution of conflict, effective management of human resource and continuous improvement and development for businesses having the different mixture of enterprises.

Power Distance Index

From the viewpoint of those belonging to the lower social standings, the acceptance degree of unequal power distribution is defined as PDI or Power Distance Index. Influenced by cultural fabrics, such inequality is not only suitable but is of desire by both inferiors and superiors. Americans scored 40 in PDI, which is low compared to the 54 score by the Japanese in an analysis made by Hofstede. It means the value of equality and freedom is preferred by Americans, while the order of hierarchy is glorified by the Japanese. Strict obedience, without reservation or questions, is portrayed as a cultural difference in the Gung Ho movie by Kazuhiro when superiors ordered him to increase productivity level to match the standard of the Japanese. On the side of workforce of America there were a lot of demands from the management including labor privileges, authorized leave, incentive and overtime pay. The Americans think that constitutional rights enable them to utter their mind. On the other hand, the Japanese who emphasize on positional worth views it as a sign of disrespect and counts it against the workers.

Participation in the corporate decision-making process is affected due to the lack of presence of the avenues for the Japanese, and it was illustrated in their high power distance index. It was desirable for the Japanese but the Americans it was a major violation of labor rights. The informal communication network is always open between the employees and employer except, at times when sole discretion and wisdom from top management is required. Japanese are more exclusive Stevenson while Stevenson meets workers in addressing labor concerns.

Collectivism dimension vis-à-vis individualism is in contradiction with index of power distance, which is an insight generated by the critical appreciation of Hofstede’s theory. Japanese put the premium on group action and collective commitment even though the hierarchical order is given emphasis. Americans are individualistic, yet they value equality and openness. Fulfillment of the work makes the Japanese work. They always want to be the most productive component of the company and therefore, they are work dedicated and are motivated in improving their skills. Therefore, the Japanese are loyal to their company. Workers and managers find the success likewise the company’s growth. Rather than pieces and bits they see its entirety.

Americans individualistic tendencies, on the other hand, lead them to practise skills they find themselves efficient in doing so. They seek skills improvement, not for the corporation’s growth but to increase stock of theirs advancement in career in the company. Better compensation translates from the greater promotional aspect of growing expertise. The desire of higher compensation comes for their families as well as for themselves. They will look for alternative employment if job promotion or increased salaries will take a lot of time or are unlikely. Loyalty is therefore, not in the society, general interest or company but rather on individual success, family and profession.

A scene exemplified as a cultural difference where a worker wanted to be with his son sought leave on the account of his tonsillitis removal procedure. Disagreed by the Japanese manager saying, it will create interruption the workflow and harm the company’s overall productivity.

A scene from another depicted the difference, where a janitor was transferred from his old designation to the same compensation of the janitorial position. The decision of reassigning the worker borne out of his incapability about other works as put by the company’s management. It is viewed as an insult by the American worker but to the Japanese, it was all right. Americans being individualistic finds the transfer as an insult personally in respect to his reputation and prestige, achievement and his work designation seeming of lower social status, which to them is undesirable. However, it is seen as a totality by the Japanese. They see it the transfer to the janitorial position is an efficient one. Rather than putting a premium on individual achievements they put it overall on the productivity. From the view of the collectivist tendency, the Japanese see it as a transfer instead of seeing it as a mean to get directly fired. All organization members are a complete group and a big family to them.

Lastly, the dichotomy of individualist-collectivist of the two cultures was shown as a clear indicator at the start of the film. For developing a group spirit, morning calisthenics were performed when the management gathered the workers. It was a laughing matter for the Americans. When Stevenson joined the workers finally joined to perform.

According to Hofstede’s database, the Japanese being mostly male-oriented display greater masculinity even though both are patriarchal. Omen in America seem to have a significant presence in public life while the Japanese women had secondary roles in society and are mostly limited to household activities. In the scene where Stevenson’s girlfriend, Audrey, decided to get a glance on the company’s operation, while the Japanese women paved the way for business discussion which is males-only. Notably, the scene depicted a picture of the American’s system of low-context communication as opposed to the high-context communication of the Japanese. Americans speak their mind, and they do not shy from being informative. On the other side, demeanors, body language and way of spoken words are emphasized by the Japanese. Cultural misunderstanding crops up due to the lack of this awareness.

Individualist-collectivist dichotomy is connected with the varying level of masculinity of both the cultures and is an important point woarth noting. The promise of guiding economic recovery of the town while being a town hero, a role donned by Hunt Stevenson. Inclination towards a heavy priority on work and perfectionism, are expressed by Japanese masculinity. They work for long hours and is not unusual for workers to have 60 hours a week. But they consider a minor embarrassment to be disastrous.

Cultural variation measure indicates the order to which the society prefers predictability and order. According to the Hofstede’s analysis, Japanese society scored high based on their rich social and cultural heritage. As a cultural result of dictation, the UAI score was low for the Americans. Cultures with a low UAI score appreciates heterogeneity as a necessary component for the advancement of society, differences for high tolerances and are very fluid because they can incorporate themselves into another culture.  Since the Japanese have norms regarding society and expectations are systematically coded in various laws and a rigorous society, and hence, the opposite is expected of them. Example being the Japanese culture is compartmentalized and nested. Power distance index and UAI are closely linked. Americans value equality, and hence they have low PDI; Lower index of uncertainty avoidance, results in a preference for unpredictability and equality. They see unpredictable situations as a way to measure their acquired skills so far and provide challenged for them, and opportunities perceived as a way of career and personal growth.

When it comes to decision making process of an organization, cultures with high UAi typically tend to make the decision-making process a lengthy one but one which has a fast and smooth implementation. It is because decisions are collected from people of various authorities, who provide insights and build themselves among a consensus. The implementation, however, is simple and effective as the workforce strictly follows the management’s new order without any reservation or question. China and Japan are such cultures. On the other side, the tendency of decision-making in the US is limited to a handful of authorities, and resolutions are met mostly times by informal methods. In the movie, Japanese were showed to have the propensity to avoid uncertainty is served as an example, especially in the scene when the general manager gave Hunt Stevenson work expectations and corporate philosophies manual, that he will be relaying to the workforce. As expected, Hunt was not interested and insisted from not implementing the principles of Japanese but to implement theirs instead. In a different scene where Hunt showed to visit Japan without being acutely aware of their culture and Assan Motor’s exact head office location, demonstrated the high tolerance of the Americans. Only after arriving at a farm and asking directions from the locals he got to visit his destination.

The Pragmatic culture is considered far-sighted; being collectivists. As a result, long-term planning is a preference for them. On the other side, normative cultures place great emphasis on current and short-term objectives. According to Hofstede’s research, Japanese are pragmatic while the Americans are normative. An individualist-collectivist dichotomy is a result expected as part of a result proposed by the earlier measures. Americans being individualistic, their failure of acquisition in a small time frame will result in an immediate alternate employment since they see economic advancement only by skills acquisition. On the other side, Japanese look to the future for a bigger picture. Hence, it is for this reason why the Japanese don’t value youthful idealism but rather length and dedication of their work.

In the film Gung Ho, this difference in culture is seen when the Americans thought of their current life being employed at Assan Motors and the daily rigors needed to survive there. On the other side, the Japanese are far-sighted. They carry a macroscopic vision of how they will fare and their performance in the coming years.

Cultures that tend to show indulgent are those who have a low uncertainty avoidance index and are an individualist. Self-worth and individual accomplishment are valued by Individualist cultures. Acquisition of material possession is considered to be of high social stature. In this culture, the people often purchase luxury items and accessories like fancy cars which ostensibly show the person’s material affluence. Americans do consider the possession and indulgence of such luxury items as a reward for their career growth and hard work. On the other side, the Japanese think showing such indulgence in material affluence to be more restrictive and explicitly shows them. This difference of the design of Japanese households is shown in the film. In respect, they are more serene and simpler. However, the American-style urban living was eventually acquired by them.

However, had there been open communication and substantial prior knowledge of each culture before it is encountered, the clashes arising from the differences in culture shown in the film could have been avoided or the very least handled effectively. Without compromising their culture, every culture must know and learn how to respect their counterparts and adjust accordingly. Management at the top must also be aware of the truth that the ever increasing trade globalization does require cultural intercourses. The truth is that even human capital at present is already globalized only highlights this fact. Blue-collar workers and professionals are from different cultures and countries. Therefore, the need for devising a human resource management and development plan and a framework of context-sensitive communication in an efficient manner is necessary.

Had both American workforce and Japanese management were able to respect each other’s cultural differences, the conflicts are shown in the movie would have been avoided. Being polite and showing respect for one another is a solution to many of the prevalent problems.

Conclusion

Illustrated in the film, explained the difficulty of reconciling differences and the dynamics of different cultures for the organizational stability’s sake. The film concludes where Takahara Kazuhiro and Hunt Stevenson adapted to the opposing culture’s values to succeed, for the efficient human resource management and encapsulating the requisites of it, composed from the cultural backgrounds of many. To have productive cultural encounter respect and research are needed. When globalization was accepted by the countries globally as the new game rule, consequently, they also needed to be aware and take the values, views, tendencies and philosophies of diversity. In an organization, common goals must be relayed and emphasized to all of the members so that they operate by a common ground and not as an individual. Relationships have to be symbiotic. And most important of all, when cultures see that there is the need to learn the differences from the counterpart’s cultures, it welcomes them and sees it as a learning aspect which they have been missing rather than seeing them as deterrents. These learning points serve as the solution for their existing cultural loopholes and managing diversity becomes easy. The analysis of this movie therefore serves as a reference to the Testament of the modern practice of managing the diversity of mixed cultures in a workplace.

References

Deresky, H. (1994). International management: Managing across borders and cultures. Pearson Education India.

Hofstede, G. (2013). Dimensions of national cultures.